Delusion
by Arrina-san
Summary: Some things are only meant to be taken at face value.


Just some…blatherish stuff I wrote a while ago. One-sided Riko➝Juna, 05➝06 if you choose to see it that way, 03+05.  
>I don't mean to bash Miroku or Grana or anyone with this! I love them both dearly! I swear! D:<p>

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><p>And suddenly, he appeared before you–Hair red like fire, eyes blue like water. He contrasted so beautifully against the monochrome and lifelessness of the scenery behind him, around you, and you couldn't help but stare.<p>

"Come with me," he said as he approached. "I want your power–I need it."

He didn't say he wanted you. Nothing even of the sort. But it was implied. You _heard_ it.

You were needed.

So you agreed to go with him, lend him your power and topple the world that pushed you down into submission. He was strong and proud and confident; you felt secure with him, believed his outrageous claims because he simply gave off the vibe that he _could_. He became disturbed once, during the breakout, but only once. You could feel it, had no idea what caused it, and it made you look up in surprise. It went away soon, though, so you merely brushed it off.

Two others were recruited around then: one was sent to play watchdog with the sole survivor he let live, and the other–You don't even know. They weren't as strong as you, but he said they'd be useful anyways. As for you and him, you found a hideout quickly, and made it your base. At times, though, he seemed to drift off into his own little world and excuse himself, as if talking with someone telepathically. You weren't bothered by this, since all other times he liked focusing his attention on you. He tossed aside the _labels_ you were given in that place, replacing them with _names_.

Amagi Miroku and Junas.

No more #06 and #05. All shackles to that place were now severed–Or so you thought. That place could never be discarded, ever, and you learned this the hard way. He would stay with you when these times came, when you'd remember all the horrible events of back then–the torture, the experiments, the scientists who gazed down on you as if you were an animal waiting to be dissected–and just be overcome by them. In return, you were there for him as well. The shackles now bound you to him: and this time, they were bound by choice.

Days were spent either relaxing or going on "missions" that consisted of information disposal, whether it be records or people, or checking up on the whereabouts of the other _Grigori_ _test_ _subjects_, as those researchers had dubbed you. One day you asked him why he let that one researcher live, and let another into the ranks. He responded that he wanted to see that one suffer, and that the other was to keep watch on him. You really didn't understand, but trusted him, and conceded. When he decided to embark on a little side mission of his own, you agreed to dispose of his records in his place.

He smiled at you that day, for the first time. It was an innocent smile, like that of a child as he slowly tears the wings off an insect, watching as it squirms. But you–Grigori test subjects were supposed to be devoid of emotion. Yet here he was, smiling. This man, who was your age or older, who was either _God_ or _the_ _Devil_ or _something_ along those lines, was smiling. And you could only shudder at the innocence of it.

He said one day that he had to leave, to keep watch on one of the other two–Inui, was it?–and get funds. It was going to take a while, but you could still contact him by phone; he handed you a cell phone then, though you had no idea when or where he got it, and told you he'd call every once in a while to check in on you. You could also call him, if you so desired. Then he left, and you never felt more alone.

The first time he called, you could faintly hear other voices in the background. When you asked about them, he replied that they were "followers" of him, of his and your group WISE, and not to worry. Regretfully, you had to tell him the search for Grigori #01 had not progressed as of yet, and he merely chuckled and said "Alright" and told you to keep looking.

"I'll call you again soon," he said towards the end, and at that moment, you felt so very close to him, even though he was so far away.

You called him once, and only once. He opened with, "How are you? Alright?" and ended with "I'll be back soon. Don't abandon me now, got it? That's an order." It was said as a joke; he obviously trusted you to stay by him, but you couldn't help but make sure:

"I wouldn't dream of it."

He laughed at this, and then hung up.

When he returned he was covered in bruises and was in poor shape in general. Inui was dead, he told you, then really _looked_ at you, the smile slipping from his lips, and asked what was wrong. Suddenly, without giving you time to answer, he laughed as if amused and said, "Oh. _Oh_. I see."

"Wait–" you started, but he interrupted.

"Don't worry about it. Me." His eyes had such a friendly light despite his words. "I'm just a complete stranger who came to free you, after all."

"You're not," you said, and the look he gave you then was almost challenging, and curious.

"How much do you trust me?" he asked, blue eyes shining with defiance, as if he wasn't covered in wounds and bruises at all.

_With_ _my_ _life_. You wanted to tell him the truth, but just couldn't. "As much as I need to."

His eyes seemed as if they could see through your little lie, but he made no effort to call you out on it if he realized.

"Good," he said, "I trust you too. As long as you fight for me."

It was the second time he had sent a shiver down your spine.

To further progress his plan of toppling the world, he said he needed more _Psychicers_, those with power like the two of you. You were sent to Harukaze Academy to find "Creator" while he went to recruit #01, whose whereabouts were finally figured out. You were to meet up with him after retrieving "Creator," just in case #01 was to be uncooperative. There were more of his records at Harukaze, so you disposed of them and warned him of the three men that appeared to be threats.

"Creator" ended up being a little girl, Hachiboshi Riko, around four years old. At the orphanage, they had taken away her means of using her power and even locked her away at times, just because she had power. She reminded you of…yourself. It was just like how it was in that place–Complete submission, shut away into a cell with no outside interaction.

"I've come to free you," you said. A flash of red.

"Why did you trust a complete stranger, and follow me?" you asked. A flash of blue.

She gave pure answers, as expected of a child, and you pondered briefly whether you followed _him_ because of "friendship" as well. You had ended up getting into a fight with those three men, however, making you unable to help him, so you hurried along to meet up with him again, pushing such thoughts aside.

With #01 was the recruitment of #03, and a serial killer named Kise Eiji. You had no interest in Kise, and #01 favored interacting with Miroku, so by default you were only really acquainted with #03.

He was bratty and arrogant, making jabs at #01 at every possible moment. His _raison_ _d'être_ was defeating #01, though it was clear he'd never be able to accomplish that goal, strong as he was, and it puzzled you. Miroku also spent more time conversing with #01 than with you, but you simply put it to "more people means more responsibility" and didn't hold it against him. You spent your days either arguing with #03 or taking care of Riko.

#01 and #03 soon took on the names of Grana and Uranus, respectively, and new recruits of Shiner and Dholaki were accepted. "Bonfire" was also introduced, and you wondered how long she'd known Miroku, based on how casually she acted towards him. The two others that had been recruited around the breakout were now dead.

Uranus approached you one day, and asked, "How close are you with Amagi Miroku?"

"What are you talking about?" you snorted in response, as he took the seat next to you on the sofa.

"You look at him as if you are," he replied. "But the way he looks at you and how he acts sometimes suggests otherwise."

You realized some truth in his words, but rejected it. "Why do you care?"

"Just wondering." He shrugged, and you knew there was more to this pointless question than he was letting on. It eventually led to a spat between you and him.

Miroku came to talk with you not long after, and his gaze was warm and welcoming as it always had been. You told yourself that Uranus had no idea what he was talking about. He talked to you about his grand plan and how nicely it was going along. More importantly, though, he asked you if you were okay with it.

You asked, "Why wouldn't I be?"

He smiled in return and said, "I knew I could trust you." He left after that, and you went to go make sure Riko had dinner.

As time passed by, you noticed the conversations between Miroku and Grana increased. As a result, his conversations with you dwindled. You had nothing against Grana, not at all, you thought he was friendly and easy to get along with unlike certain others. But you couldn't help but dislike this new change.

They were the strongest, and you knew this. You and Uranus, even as third and fourth strongest respectively, knew of the gap between the ranks. So you told yourself that it made sense they'd talk a lot. They had much to discuss about toppling the world, after all. You made sure to keep Riko happy and healthy, because even if he couldn't always be there for you, you could still try and be there for her.

But one day Uranus came to you again, when Grana was off conversing with Miroku as per usual. He sat down on the couch, right next to you, just like before. Nothing was said. It was an awkward silence, and you finally broke it by asking, "Why are you so intent on defeating him?"

"Because it's one of my reasons to live," was his answer.

_One_ of them? That puzzled you, because hadn't it been his _only_ before? He started talking again before you could ask him about it.

He asked, "Are you and Amagi Miroku really friends?"

"I guess," you said in return, ambiguous like you always were when answering him about this matter.

He asked, "Do you ever feel like you're alone?"

You remembered what it was like in that place, crammed into that empty box like an old doll, and what it was like when _he_ took you from there and made you _live_ again.

"No," you answered.

He made some "hm" noise in response, and then the silence returned. Then he leaned against your shoulder, and you tried to piece his questions with his actions right then, not rejecting him. Way back when, Miroku used to do something similar when he was remembering that place. You wondered what sort of horrible images must've been going through Uranus' head to make him do something like this, and then you realized it was reality, because you were having similar ones. Neither of you moved until Grana walked by the doorway, and Uranus sprung up to try and defeat him again. You remained there until Riko walked in, telling you she'd been looking and calling for you for a while.

When the time came to retrieve the "Tears of Promise" for that "Bonfire" girl, some kids got in the way. They tried blackmailing Miroku, and you attempted to kill the blackmailer, but were quickly subdued by that man who had tried to stop you back at Harukaze. The blackmailer kid did something to Miroku, and you felt that same disturbance as before, in that place, and it worried you greatly. You tried telling him not to believe anything they said, that they were only lying. Somehow, he took it the wrong way and snapped at you, and it shocked you. It was the first time he had ever been so angry with you, the first time you'd ever see him glare so angrily at something. It had been the ground, and some weak part of you was happy he hadn't been glaring at you with that fury.

He made you and Grana stay put while he fought with the kid against "Bonfire," who had been revealed as a traitor. After that, he declared he'd be making a country, just for Psychicers, instead of toppling the world for them. His face as he said that looked so content and happy, that you couldn't help but smile slightly in return, even if he wasn't looking at you with it.

Ten years passed. He had somehow changed, and though he still bore the same facial features and build and character, you couldn't help but feel you were looking at a stranger at times.

You went to talk with him one night, and asked, "Are you okay with this?"

"Of course," he answered, chuckling and gazing at the wall as if seeing something far, far away. "Starting off small…is the best choice, in this case."

"Alright. I trust you," you said as he went to look out the window at the night sky. "…What are you thinking about?"

"How nice it'll be, to have a country just for Psychicers. Don't you agree?"

This answer disappointed you somewhat, and you didn't understand why. But your stomach felt as if someone had hit you there, and you replied, "Yeah" before taking your leave.

Riko confessed to you not long after. She looked so happy as she did so, and you had no idea she had such feelings for you. You had to turn her down, however, and the hurt that then showed on her face was something you just couldn't understand. There was a strange sense of déjà vu to you, and you couldn't quite place why.

You came across Grana and Miroku talking after that. It wasn't a rare occurrence by any means, but it still surprised you.

"What are you thinking about?" Grana asked, sending a curious look in Miroku's direction.

"What it will be like when we have our own country," Miroku replied, smiling softly and returning the gaze.

It was then that you realized it, why Uranus had continued coming to you, and why he suddenly gained more reasons to live, and why there was a sinking feeling in your gut nowadays. You realized your own naiveté.

Because fire had never been red, and water had never been blue.

They could only be made to look so by artificial means.


End file.
